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Etymology and origin of the English word poi

English has two words spelled poi, one borrowed from Hawaiian and one from Māori.[1][2]

Pronunciation

poi1 taro paste

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1798 G. Vancouver, Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean
Borrowed from
Hawaiian poi

Etymology

The word for the taro dish is borrowed from Hawaiian poi.[1][4][5][3][6][7] Merriam-Webster Unabridged names Hawaiian and Samoan as the source,[8] and the Shorter Oxford calls it Polynesian, comparing poipoi.[2][9] The OED suggests that the early spelling poe may have been influenced by Tahitian po'e (“a kind of sweet pudding”), since the writers who used it had visited Tahiti before reaching Hawaii.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The traditional staple food of Hawaii, a fermented paste of baked and pounded taro root: 1798, in G. Vancouver's Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean.[1] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1782,[8] while the 1989 edition of the OED, Barnhart and Etymonline give 1823.[10][5][4]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart records the spelling poe in 1823 and finds that poi replaced it in English in 1833;[5] the Dictionary of American Regional English also notes the former spelling poe and labels the word Hawaiian.[11] The OED adds that the paste was occasionally made from breadfruit, sweet potato or banana instead of taro.[1] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records a Hawaiian or Samoan food of mashed ripe bananas or pineapples with coconut cream.[8][3]

Timeline

  • 1798 – the Hawaiian staple food of fermented taro paste.[1] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1782,[8] and the 1989 edition of the OED to 1823.[10]
  • 1823 – the spelling poe, replaced by poi in 1833.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A Hawaiian food made from the root of the taro, cooked and pounded into a paste with water and often left to ferment.[1][8][12]
  2. A Samoan or Hawaiian dish of mashed ripe bananas or pineapples mixed with coconut cream.[8][3]

poi2 ball on a string

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1817 J. L. Nicholas, Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand
Borrowed from
Māori poi

Etymology

The word for the ball on a string is borrowed from Māori poi (“ball”).[1][6][3][8][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small, light ball of leaves and fibre attached to a string: 1817, in J. L. Nicholas's Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand.[1] The 1989 edition of the OED dated it to 1843,[10] and the Shorter Oxford to the mid 19th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word was soon also used for the dance traditionally performed by Māori women and girls, who swing the balls rhythmically as they sing.[1][3] In New Zealand English the ball is also called a poi-ball, and the dances distinguish the long poi, the short poi and the double poi;[14] Collins describes the poi dance as a women's formation dance.[12]

Timeline

  • 1817 – a small light ball on a string, swung in Māori songs and dances; also such a dance.[1] The 1989 edition of the OED dated it to 1843.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A small light ball, usually of woven flax or of leaves and fibre, on a string, swung and twirled rhythmically in Māori songs and dances.[1][12][8][14]
  2. A dance performed with such balls, traditionally by Māori women and girls; a poi dance.[1][14][12]

Word family

  • poi dance

Usage notes

Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records poi in music, meaning "then, next", qualifying another tempo direction; it comes from Italian poi, from Latin post (“behind, after”).[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ Cassidy, Frederic G. & Joan Houston Hall (eds.) (1985–2002), Dictionary of American Regional English, vols I–IV, Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
  12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  13. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  14. ^ a b c Deverson, Tony; Kennedy, Graeme, eds. (2005), The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary, Auckland: Oxford University Press

Related etymologies

  • lei · also from Hawaiian
  • aloha · also from Hawaiian
  • ukulele · also from Hawaiian
  • hula · also from Hawaiian
  • kiwi · also from Māori
  • mana · also from Māori
  • moa · also from Māori
  • mako · also from Māori
Cite this entry

“Poi.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/poi. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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